By the end, Hewitt's magical play had to be admired even by the 13,000 or so fans trying to will a British man into a Wimbledon final for the first time since 1938.

Alas, "Our Tim" never had a chance against the No. 1-ranked Hewitt, who conjured up 41 winners to just nine unforced errors and picked apart Henman's serve-and-volley game 7-5, 6-1, 7-5 on Friday.

Hewitt heads to his first title match at the All England Club. Henman exits in the semifinals for the fourth time in five years.

"I got on a roll -- the ball seemed to be as big as a football out there," U.S. Open champion Hewitt said. "It was hitting the middle of the racket. It was a pretty good feeling."

He'll be an overwhelming favorite for Sunday's final, no matter the opponent. Hewitt faces the winner of the rain-interrupted semi between No. 27 Xavier Malisse and No. 28 David Nalbandian.

That match resumes with the fifth set Saturday, at the same time that two-time defending champion Venus Williams plays younger sister Serena for the women's title. It's the third all-Williams final in the last four Grand Slam tournaments.

Henman tried to switch styles against Hewitt, against whom he's now 0-6: staying back on first serves, coming in on second serves, swapping baseline strokes.

"Well, as the scoreline suggests, not a lot did work, did it?" Henman said.

As Hewitt put it: "The last few games, he really didn't know what to do."

The Australian stuck with what in 2001, at 20, made him the youngest year-end No. 1: sharp service returns, solid baseline play, and a never-give-up-on-a-ball attitude that keeps his legs constantly churning. His shoes shuffling along the worn grass and dirt behind the baseline sounded like sandpaper on wood.

With Union Jacks and the English flag of St. George flapping, fans did what they could to boost Henman, clapping at each Hewitt miscue, including a double fault in the third game.

There were few such mistakes.

"I like playing in big matches," said Hewitt, who's 13-0 on grass and 40-7 overall this year.

"Memories come back of that U.S. Open, knowing that I was able to play seven tough best-of-five matches there. I was able to use those sweet memories to try and get through this one."